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Chris Sherman said:
From a liquor control agents mouth “byob is strictly prohibited in permitted and non permitted establishments. Byob in any public or large private setting is illegal and the person or persons facilitating can be charged with keeper of place an undisclosed misdemeanor ranging from An m5 to m1. Permitted establishments can have their license sanctioned aswell.” i asked that question personally during a training session and that was the answer regarding byob. The man had a badge, handcuffs, a gun and the ability to arrest and charge. I trust his answer.

I’m inclined to give a lot of weight to the agent as well, but then why did he mention non-permitted establishments? I’m new to the nebulous “BYOB” but generally it means you bring unopened alcohol to a business and then drink it there, and perhaps the business charges a fee for certain services (corkage, mixers, etc), right? How does that affect a non-permitted establishment? If the place isn’t selling alcohol, then it doesn’t need a liquor permit, right? And “keeper of the place” is I think ORC 4399.09, which only refers to places “where beer or intoxicating liquors are sold, furnished, or given away in violation of law”. Looks like the agent thinks “keeper of place” applies to nonpermitted establishments (oh but only LARGE ones of course?), but if 4399.09 does, then holy cow it REALLY seems to be begging the question. I’m still not convinced.

That the DoLC says that BYOB is illegal in Ohio is a given. Get past that, please.
Having a gun and a badge does not make you right. Where are liquor control agents on the Peace Officer totem pole-one step above meter maids, building security, and dog catchers?
DTown hit the nail on the head. Right or wrong, no sane permit holder would want to undertake the expense and pain of battling the DoLC through the courts, particularly since there are some provisions that could very well be interpreted in the State’s favor.
In Chicago, NYC, and San Fran, where BYOB is permitted, only a small fraction of restaurants welcome BYOB. So the battle, if we were to call it that, is less worth fighting for that reason too.
I’m not particularly frustrated by all of this-there are not that many restaurants here in Columbus where I find myself wishing I could bring my own bottle. What is frustrating is how antiquated, backward and frankly corrupt, through many years of lobbying, Ohio’s framework of liquor laws are. The distributors did the lobbying, and continue their lobbying and they have never been called out. Forget BYOB, do you folks realize that in Ohio we pay 10-20% more for every bottle of wine than most other States’ citizens?

Yes, the liquor laws are antiquated, with some dating back to the 21st Amendment.

Speaking of the agents, they’re getting more active and I’m aware of several license holders getting busted over the holiday season with ridiculous scenarios during the busiest time of the year. Aggravating.

When you refer to the lobbyists, one of the most obvious points of impact is license costs. If you want to brew beer, it’s $4000/yr. If you want to make wine, it’s under $100/yr. And before this last year, the brewer had to spend another $4000 to share the product with customers on-site. InBev or InBed? They understand that the craft beer movement is slowly taking market share where local wine isn’t much of a concern for numerous reasons.

meltsintowonder said:
Yes, the liquor laws are antiquated, with some dating back to the 21st Amendment.

Speaking of the agents, they’re getting more active and I’m aware of several license holders getting busted over the holiday season with ridiculous scenarios during the busiest time of the year. Aggravating.

When you refer to the lobbyists, one of the most obvious points of impact is license costs. If you want to brew beer, it’s $4000/yr. If you want to make wine, it’s under $100/yr. And before this last year, the brewer had to spend another $4000 to share the product with customers on-site. InBev or InBed? They understand that the craft beer movement is slowly taking market share where local wine isn’t much of a concern for numerous reasons.

I recommend that anyone watch the documentary Beer Wars if you haven’t already. It’s streaming on Netflix.

Shows you how the deck is stacked against craft breweries and the like.

Speaking of arcane liquor laws, has anyone encountered a cashier that absolutely INSISTS on putting alcoholic beverages in a bag? I’ve had this happen a couple times at different places; most recently at the new Giant Eagle liquor store on 5th Ave. in Grandview. I was purchasing a 12-pack of beer, and the cashier told me she was required to put the whole cardboard box into a plastic grocery bag, which was a bit ridiculous. I’ve purchased beer hundreds of times elsewhere (including the Giant Eagle itself) and never run into this before. Anyone know why this is?

HighLife said:
Speaking of arcane liquor laws, has anyone encountered a cashier that absolutely INSISTS on putting alcoholic beverages in a bag? I’ve had this happen a couple times at different places; most recently at the new Giant Eagle liquor store on 5th Ave. in Grandview. I was purchasing a 12-pack of beer, and the cashier told me she was required to put the whole cardboard box into a plastic grocery bag, which was a bit ridiculous. I’ve purchased beer hundreds of times elsewhere (including the Giant Eagle itself) and never run into this before. Anyone know why this is?

As long as the original container is sealed, I don’t think it’s required to put into a bag. Or maybe there’s some ridiculous law about making sure people don’t see you carrying alcohol around town? I don’t think a bag is necessary. Maybe a requirement by the stores but not a law?

In 2003 I was in a restaurant in Cincinnati somewhere I want to say between UC and Downtown that had a corkage fee, and everyone in the place was drinking their own wine, which was even being poured by the waiters. Perhaps they were ill-informed or it has changed since 2003?

th0m said:
In 2003 I was in a restaurant in Cincinnati somewhere I want to say between UC and Downtown that had a corkage fee, and everyone in the place was drinking their own wine, which was even being poured by the waiters. Perhaps they were ill-informed or it has changed since 2003?

The practice is legal if the establishment doesn’t have a liquor license. Otherwise, you can’t bring and drink your own wine if the business has a liquor license.